The Trouble With Names
by xXxAngelStormxXx
Summary: Laurel always knew in her bones that Oliver Queen was her soulmate, she swore that he was since the very first day she met him.Of course, Quentin wasn't very happy that his little girl was so adamant about it, especially since her soulmark wouldn't com in until her teenage years. The day her soulmark came in Laurel was fifteen and it was definitely not the one she expected.
1. Laurel Gets Her Mark

Today was just like any other day. She woke up, went to her morning classes that she miraculously shared with Oliver, had lunch with both Oliver and Tommy, and forced herself to muddle through the rest of her classes without Oliver by her side.

Struggling to keep herself focused on what the teacher was droning on and on about, Laurel felt a familiar soft touch, almost a tickling sensation, as if Oliver himself was running his fingertips along her right side even though he was nowhere near her. Closing her eyes she let the sensation wash over her for a few moments, just breathing softly as she found herself finally able to focus on something.

As the sensation faded she opened her eyes again and suddenly realized that the teacher was not only standing right in front of her desk but was also trying to get her attention.

"Laurel, are you all right?" Her eyebrows were knitted together and Laurel felt her cheeks and neck warm at the thought of how out of it she must have appeared.

"I- I'm fine." She stumbled before changing her mind, "Actually, no, I'm not feeling the greatest, may I go get a drink of water and use the restroom? I think perhaps I just need to move around a little bit." Not for the first-time Laurel was glad she was usually adept at keeping secrets and this little white lie wouldn't be a problem for anyone. She just needed to know if that feeling meant what she thought it did.

"Yes, you may go."

In a flash, Laurel slid her books into her bag and was striding out the door, weaving her way through the hallways to the nearest girls bathroom so she could check. She all but threw herself into the largest stall and slammed the door closed behind herself.

Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, Laurel tried to calm her excited nerves, sure that in only a few moments she would find the name Oliver Queen now etched into her skin. Opening her eyes again she looked down as she peeled her tank top up to see where the mark would be.

Her mouth hung open, lips parted in disbelief, as she stared at the one thing she hadn't been expecting: a name other than Oliver Queen.

"What the h*** kind of name is Green Arrow."


	2. Oliver's Mark

A couple of weeks later Laurel knows Oliver too has gained his soulmark, a name that is not her own. Her heart breaks that day after as she catches a glimpse as she groggily lifted her head off his shoulder, the name peeking out from under the neckline of his crooked t-shirt. Her fingers gently graze the skin as she stares at it in a sleepy haze, still not fully awake enough to process it.

Settling back into his side she closes her eyes against the harsh blue light coming from the tv screen, the movie long forgotten when they fell asleep halfway through.

Oliver wouldn't tell her but he was awake as she made the discovery, heard her tired whimper of sadness as she curled into his side. His heart clenched as he allowed his fingers to softly rub along her side, right over her own soulmark.

 _Green Arrow._ The man whose soul was paired with his beautiful Laurel's. That wasn't even a name, he scowled bitterly as he held her close. No way were these two unknown people with crazy names going to tear them apart.

If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that he, Oliver Queen, belonged to Laurel Lance. To h*** with this Black Canary chick.


	3. Second Heartbreak

They were 22 when Laurel broached the subject of getting an apartment together. At first Oliver was hesitant, because her father still hated him and he didn't want to cause any more rifts but the idea of a place of their own, just for the two of them, was much more tempting and he had happily agreed. It was around that time that he began to take school and education more seriously, this was after the forth ivy league school he'd ended up dropping out of. He watched as Laurel tackled it all head-on, and she encouraged him to do the same. He'd made the decision to apply for a school near the one she was planning to attend, and was just waiting to hear if he could get in before surprising her with the news.

While Oliver loved to party, and Tommy ever the encourager joined him, he was never a bad boyfriend to Laurel. He loved her, and she loved him. So, while he was often wild he never cheated on her and did his best to not hurt her in any other way. Until the day, not of any fault of his own, he did hurt her.

The second-time Laurel felt her heart break like it did when she discovered his soulmark was that awful day when Oliver was lost to the sea. "I should have convinced him to stay." She cried into her pillow, her parents in the other room crying over the loss of Sara. "I should have gone with." She went back and forth between the things she could have done that would have changed the situation.

She and Sara had been all set to leave with Ollie and his father on the Queen's Gambit. Ollie wanted the chance to get to know her family better, and of course her dad refused to come and her mom was busy with work. So that left Sara. And on that fateful day, she found herself no longer able to go, but of course Sara still wanted to go.

That final goodbye, was more of a see you soon to them, so sure he would make it home safely to her. "I got you something." She smiles as she produces a small picture of herself, "So I'm always with you." He smiles at her and she sees they are boarding the ship.

"I think you have to go." She frowned, pouting a little.

"I'll be back before you know it." He laughed before kissing her one last time.


	4. Reunion

Five whole years later relief flooded her body when she saw the news that her Ollie was officially found alive. She had known he couldn't be dead, not since he was her soulmate and she did not ever feel their connection break, though she swears she felt it wavering. She would have felt like she too was dying had he been killed.

Dropping her files onto her desk at CNRI she turned, giving a quick excuse of needing to go to Joanna, she was out the door before anyone could stop her.

Within ten minutes she was in front of the Queen's mansion, and just as she was racing up the front steps the door swung open and Oliver raced to meet her.

"Ollie!"

"Laurel!"

The two embraced and cried, for lost time, for all the pain the last five years had been, out of relief to be finally reunited. "I love you Ollie, so much."

"Dinah Laurel Lance, I've missed you so much. I love you too. So, so much." He wrapped his arms around her tighter and pressed his face into her shoulder, breathing in the scent that was undeniably Laurel.


	5. Pulling Away

Soon after Oliver's return a vigilante that became known as "The Hood" popped up and started taking down criminals and "those who have failed this city" as he would have put it.

The Hood intrigued Laurel, and there was a sense of familiarity around him, but for some reason she was thrown off as to why that could be. He made her feel protected in the same way Ollie did, but he wasn't Ollie. Was he? She had her doubts.

It worried her that The Hood might actually be, or become, the Green Arrow whose name was forever on her side. Her soulmate. The one she didn't want.

And then there was a whirlwind of trying to figure out her emotions, Oliver pulling away and Tommy stepping in like he was attempting to take his place. It didn't feel right, but she relented to what Oliver wanted, and what he wanted right now was to keep her at a distance. Tomorrow he may come back wanting her close again, he'd been flipping back and forth so quickly that it made her dizzy and confused, but she loved him anyway and vowed to be there when he was willing to let her in again.


	6. The Arrow

Her life was in upset once more when the Glades were leveled and destroyed, many lives were lost. Including Tommy's. That's when she found out that her name marked his skin and she realized why he'd tried to squeeze into her life more like he did, trying to take Oliver's place as the love of her life. She was his soulmate, but he wasn't hers. Not that he knew that of course, she never told anyone the name on her side, although she was sure Oliver knew even though they didn't talk about their names.

After that the Hood disappeared and so did Ollie, out of the country. She felt so alone with him gone, her job at CNRI gone, and feeling guilty about Tommy and many other things she had absolutely no control over.

Things just got worse and worse and then the Hood was back, but this time he had a new name. The Arrow they called him. That creeping suspicion that he may indeed be her soulmate came back and hit her. Hard. She just didn't know what to do. She loved Oliver, he was the love of her life, she knew it. Nothing would ever compare to that, soulmate or not.


	7. Becoming the Arrow

More than anything it pained Oliver that he was pushing Laurel away, but it was for her own good he told himself. Not that it made it much easier.

He tried and tried, but she kept coming back full force, pushing back every time he tried to distance himself. Then Tommy told him that he had Laurel's name, and everything was upside down. How could he have Laurel's name when Oliver was so sure that they were soulmates and the world just screwed up their marks? How could his best friend belong with the love of his life?

He twisted it in his head until it hurt to think, no closer to an answer than before. Then it didn't matter anymore because Tommy was killed in when CNRI collapsed and the glades were left in shambles. This heartbreaking feeling was different then when he'd found out Laurel didn't bear his name. Tommy, his best friend was gone and there was no coming back from that.

Feeling a failure, he fled the city, leaving Laurel behind once more, telling himself he didn't deserve her love or forgiveness. He had failed her time and time again, had failed Tommy when he needed him most, had failed his city.

Months later Felicity and Dig came to the island and forced him to see what he couldn't see before through the cloud of his grief: that leaving only left the city more vulnerable and wasn't the answer. The city needed him, but the name for the Hood was taken from him by a group of people who were doing more harm than good with it.

As he fought his inner demons and battled the world to become worthy of this city, of his friends, of Dinah Laurel Lance, he was given a new name. One that provided him a glimmer of hope once more, though he wouldn't admit it, lest it turn out to be nothing.

His new name was the Arrow. And it was so close to being the name on Laurel's side tha the couldn't help but hope. And even planned to change back to wearing green more often instead of the stealth black that he'd taken to using. Maybe one day, he hoped, they would call him the Green Arrow instead and then he'd be the match to Laurel's mark.

Now the only thing left unknown was who the Black Canary was, and what it would mean if it was Laurel.


	8. A Canary

There was a pit in Oliver's stomach when he found out the blonde woman in black had been Sara, not only was she alive after all this time but the name she chose was the Canary. This was too close for his liking, to similar for comfort.

He was on edge, in between being happy to work with Sara who was as skilled, if not more skilled, than he was, and uncertain what their ties would mean, what it would do to Laurel if Sara was Black Canary.

It took all he had not to blurt it out to Laurel, to tell her that her sister had somehow survived after all this time, even when he'd seen her dragged out of the Gambit, forced into the turbulent stormy waters. It wasn't long before he managed to convince her to tell her family she was alive.

That's when the League of Assassins showed up. Among the things he did not expect to learn was that Sara had not only been inducted and taught their style of fighting and defense, but that she had found her soulmate there, and her soulmate was the daughter of Ra's Al Ghul.

Nyssa was beautiful and fearless with potentially volatile emotions. She was not one to cross, especially not if you valued your life

And so, Sara left with her love willingly, with the promise to return for visits when she could. Laurel and Quentin, and even Dinah who had been the most convinced that she was alive, were in a state of disbelieving shock, torn between not wanting her to go in case she became lost to them once more, and wanting her to go and be happy with her soulmate.


End file.
